Real Estate Litigation Articles

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca What could be one of the largest real estate frauds in Ontario history is now playing itself out in a complex court case started by the liquidators of the Croatian (Toronto) Credit Union Limited. The lawsuit seeks recovery of $6.5 million in...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca The Ontario Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court decision that ruled that all of the unit owners of a new condominium project did not have to purchase the resident manager’s unit from the developer. The case involved the Lexington on the...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca People typically do more research when they buy a colour TV than when they buy a home. That statement, by Toronto real estate lawyer Joel Kadish, comes from a new six-minute video recently launched by the Law Society of Upper Canada as part of a...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Over the years, I have repeatedly criticized the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), a form published by the Ontario Real Estate Association. Use of the form is a controversial issue in the real estate community. Some listing agents...

One of my all-time favourite court cases deals with the Edmonton family who were well into building their dream home when they discovered that they didn t own the lot where their new house was under construction. The story began back in 1981, when Tom Broumas told his...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca When does a real estate deal close when the deed is registered, when the keys and money change hands or when the seller moves out of the house? This question was raised by London, Ont., lawyer Lorne Campbell in response to my Oct. 2 column...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Virtually all agreements of purchase and sale for homes or condominiums in Ontario are prepared on standard forms published by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). Unfortunately, those forms have a great number of shortcomings which do...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca It s hard to think of any consumer purchase contract where the price on the front page is not the full purchase price, where additional charges are unlimited, and where the seller has no legal obligation to make full disclosure of extra charges...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca In many parts of the City of Toronto, houses were built so close together that when one owner wanted to repair or improve one side of his or her house, it was often necessary to access a neighbour’s property. That was the concern of my client...

Mortgage fraud may no longer be on the front pages, but the fallout from hundreds of past fraud cases is still wending its way through Ontario courts. The most recent decision in this area of law was released in June by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and...